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Sunday, August 23, 2009

I have been enjoying Archives set greatly for the past month and 1/2 or so. I've "only" got the DVD set, but even then it's more than satisfying: the sound quality is mind-blowing after those early '90s CD "remasters" ; there's plenty of great music, including some really worth while rarities and unreleased tracks; and all sorts of excellent bonus material to go through. That about sums up my experience thus far.

You mentioned some of the video on the North Country disc. I've really enjoyed that, too: footage of Neil recording A Man Needs a Maid and There's a World (the latter the only representation of that recording included in the Archives, which, along with the version of Words from Journey Through the Past, means that Out on the Weekend is (I believe) the only track from Harvest not represented on NYA1 at all) and Neil and the Stray Gators recording Are you Ready for the Country? is absolutely priceless.

It's also quite remarkable what a difference the improvements in sound quality have made in some cases. Take Soldier for instance. I had been relegated to the edited version on Decade, in early '90s CD masters quality at that. So imagine my joy when I played Solider on the Archives and felt like I was sitting in the room with Neil as he was playing, rather than pressing my ear onto a glass leaned against the wall of the next room. Soldier being such a great (yet somehow forgotten) number, it's nice--to say the least--to be able to listen to it in audio quality that does it some semblance of justice.

There are also the stills. I haven't actually counted, but it seems there must be hundreds. I might be a bit odd, but I think looking at still photographs, which capture a particular moment in time, is tremendously interesting. And of course nothing beats Neil sitting in the field outside the barn at Broken Arrow Ranch, with a can of beer in hand, offering commentary as a recording of Words is played back. That was great-- especially Neil talking about the natural echo and then the camera guy moves closer so we can hear it better. Then there's the prelude to the North Country menu with Neil in his jeep, which reminds of me old home movies my grandfather took, where all you can here is the projector running!

Elsewhere you get SN&Y playing acoustic version of After the Goldrush tunes live, or Neil playing absolutely fantastic solo, acoustic-guitar only versions of The Loner and Cinnamon Girl, which really gives those classic electric numbers a new angle. Or going back to the beginning, Neil mailing himself the sheet music of his first compositions for copyright purposes...

The entertainment the Archives can provide really seems endless at times.

I have the DVD version, too, and I am blown away as well. As far as the cleaned-up version of "Soldier" goes, I always liked the atmosphere the sawdust burner provided since it sounded like a campfire and was disappointed those parts were removed. While it's nice to have a clearer version, I'll take the original mix. I guess that's what vinyl is for.FD Roadrunner

In reference to a previous to a previous comment, I'd like to ask-- when did we start issuing labels rather than respecting the validity of others' opinions, even when we disagree? When did we start calling each other "fanboys"--or "bashers" for that matter--instead of respecting everyone's fundamental rights to his or her views?

I am a fan of Neil Young and have been enjoying Archives 1 immensely over the last couple of months. I know I'm not the only one. Would people such as Anonymous above all of us as "fanboys" simply because we disagree with him and happen to enjoy a product Neil has released more than he does? It is both disturbing and maddening to think that there are people in existence whose minds are relegated to this type of black and white thinking.

Additionally, there is criticism of Archives 1 in plain sight on the Thoughts and Commentary forum. So don't try to tell me there's any censorship going on. In Anonymous' case, last I checked, his brief review of Archives 1 was still at the bottom of the Archives 1 review page as the last comment added at the end of July. If you think anyone in censoring anyone on here, frankly, I have to say I feel that's pure bull****. If Thrasher, the forum auditor, feels a comment is off-topic or otherwise frivolous or offensive to the board, it will be removed. That's not censorship, it's keeping the boards free of idiocy, redundancy, and trolling. And again, I have seen numerous critical comments of Archives and other Neil Young releases on here that Thrasher apparently feels don't fit this description or else they would have been removed.

So, to recap-- A) I've had it up to here with the labeling on both sides. Whether you're calling someone "fanboy" or "basher", why can't we just accept that not everyone agrees and we're all entitled to our opinions? And B) Censorship on Thrasher's Wheat=utterly nonexistent.

I just want to say . . . It's not Neil-bashing to bring up legitimate arguments about the Archives, like Neil leaving one song off of an album that would be re-release a few months later. I love Neil, and have for 20+ years, but the Archives is not perfect, and that's a fact. Thrasher and others would do better to respect good arguments against the archives rather than basically say those who aren't 100% happy with it are crazy.

Thasher would do better to respect dissenting opinions about the Archives. I love Neil, and have for 20+ years, but the Archives is anything but perfect. There are a lot of good arguments about its flaws. This site is unethically censored.

Now with NYA, Neil's career capstone where some would like to gripe about trivial things like their discs fitting too tightly into the case. As opposed to focusing on the music and the joys of a full length Soldier such as yourself in the above post.

You know the music matters. And because sound matters, we like to try and enjoy it for what it is.

But it is rather sad.

So we do delete comments. No doubt about it. It's all laid out in the Comments Policy.

We're always more than willing to listen to a dissenting opinion. But when Wayne says this site is "unethically censored", he clearly doesn't understand the basic definition of censorship. Much less the prevailing operation of blog comments.

Let's face the facts.

We all have a lot to do in life.

We do this for fun. We choose not to agonize over whether to allow snarky, unenlightening, taunting comments or delete them.

The angry, incoherent 4% Club is incapable of properly framing an argument and marshalling facts. They mean nothing to us and are irrelevant.

(I posted this comment last night, and don't see it yet. Is this due to my inept computer skills, or did the comment not conform with the Comments Policy? I admit the comment is a little snarky, and not mostly related to the subject of Soldier. Just curious. gmantho@gmail.com )

Thrasher, I am no ethics expert, and am totally an advocate for freedom of speech, but after a while it is just self evident when someone is being negative for the sake of being negative- or more precisely, trying to goad sincere minded people down dead end negative roads, because they just can't handle something opposed to their own dim witted sensibility.

I don't know where the line is, but like another dim witted congressional "neck tie person", faced with his inability to define pornography- and proving that even a broken clock is right twice a day- I don't know what it is, but I know it when I see it. Trolls are trolls, and they deserve no respect.

Having said all this, Archives- which I have yet to hear due to my financial extremity, was proffered as a warts and all compilation. Was it ever going to please everyone? Can everything be included save a simple unedited “it got recorded, here it is” 103+ CD approach? Come on. I rest, as always, with Neil’s judgment, and for the purposes of this comment, the prescient sentiments of Tears For Fears: "Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes."

Oh, and I can’t wait to hear Soldier again, with enhanced sound quality. I’m sure it make’s my case for skipping the version callously shoved down our throats on the otherwise mostly awesome Decade…

It is acceptable and even good to censure-much like an editor editing-as long as it is not the government doing the censuring. So if your nose gets out of joint because Thrasher didn't post your precious words, then maybe you should get your own blog.

I found Thrahser's review quite thoughtful, accurate to many of my feelings about Archives 1, eloquent and articulate. It may not pertain to you, but that does not make it"over the top." That simply means it does not pertain to you.

This is a bit removed from the subject of Soldier, but this thread--like so many--had already veered off into discussions on trolls and supposed censorship, so I figure this won't hurt and may even steer the discussion away from its current murky waters:

The more I think about it, the more I feel that Archives 1 puts even the most well-known previously unreleased tracks in a new context by presenting them along with all of the memorabilia and archival material that goes with them with this giant anthology of his work from this time period. One can now see each song, previously released or not, in relation to Neil's entire body of work, not just as a song in and of itself or even as part of a specific album released at a particular time. That's one of the things a retrospective release can be most valuable for--gaining that new perspective of both the art and the artist. Sometimes retrospectives are done as much for the artist as for the fan. The artist, too, likest to gather his work together and see for himself what he as accomplished so far at times. And I think this might be one such case. I know Neil has talked about the Archives as being something he needs to do for himself as well as his fans. ( I do say "needs", not "needed", lest we forget that what we have so far is only volume one and three or four more --even old Bernard Shakey isn't quite sure--are in the works.) But then I suspect all of Neil's releases are as much for himself as they are for us. Probably more, as a matter of fact.

It will be interesting to see what the future Archives volumes bring, and also how Neil will deal with the issue of not being able to archive everything simply because his career is still very much in motion. How far will the proposed 4-5 box sets go in terms of chronology? Where will he stop? I guess that depends how far he gets before finishing them all. In the meantime, though, we're safely in the realm of the past. Getting the next couple of Archives sets out should be plain sailing as long as it doesn't take too long.